Just checking in to see how your weekend is going and how you and Mike are doing? (also your hubby of course) Did your Uncle from PA make it in? I bet it is nice having him there. Are you having a cookout at your Mom's tomorrow? That is where we are going, to my Mom's.

Things are good here this weekend with the exception that one of my Dr.'s I do billing for called today and said that she is going to do it herself for the next 2 months due to extra expenses she has due in Nov. I will be fine for 2 months, but, I just hope she doesn't decide to do it herself permanently after that. I use that money to make my car payment, for chiro and massage and for all my million dental visits a year. So that put a bit of a dampner on things today. Otherwise though we did have a nice day going to a dairy farm and petting zoo with Emily. She ran around and fed all the animals crackers.

Wow, that airshow sounds really nice. But really loud too. That's great that Mike had such a good time there. And good to hear that it didn't bother him. Sounds like overall you had a nice weekend. How is the dog today after eating the squash? Was it your older one or the puppy?

My head and neck have been okay this weekend. Actually my neck has been feeling good for the last 2 weeks since that last chiro tx. (can't believe it has been 2 weeks) I have my masso and chiro tomorrow at 1 and I think it will be my last appt. for awhile till I find out what is going on with that billing job. She was my highest paying acct of course. The other 2 I save the money for Emily's tuition. Of course if my neck starts to hurt again I will go back to the chiro but the massages will just have to wait till we get back on track with the finances. The thing that is still bothering me the most is my bite change and the facial tension. The 11th cannot get here soon enough for me. I am sure that the crown or tooth has moved as I can feel a little click back there at times.

So, is Mike ready to go back to school tomorrow? Emily starts on Wednesday. She is ready. Tomorrow is her last day to help us at Meals on Wheels and she is sad about that though. She really is a big help there too.

Well, I better get going here. Still have to give Emily a bath tonight yet. Hopefully we will all get to bed earlier with school starting. We really need to work on that one. Take care and I hope you had a good day today. Michelle

You'll find this interesting, I was reading on a tmjd internet site from a medical website that permanent changes to the bite by crowns and bridges do little if nothing to improve tmjd symptoms and in many cases can make it WORSE. Now before I had my crowns done, one dentist and prosthodontist warned me that if I got the fillings replaced with crowns things could get worse. I think he was right. I had alot of faith in the prosthondist that treated me and he got really close to getting in right, but when he placed the permanents things got UGLY. At this poiint, I hate the thing so much and it causes me such discomfort, I may have to get it pulled. My optimism says well just get it replaced again, but I don't trust whoever will do it -- it could come out worse and even shorter for all I know. I don't understand why these dentists can estimate correctly what they can do for a patient. In my case, the darn thing also has moved into a worse place. So we have that aggravating factor too. I see my prosthodontist next Mon although I dont know what good it will do me. I will ask him because he told me once that the teeth can move quite a bit of distance, also that they move vertically back and forth into their sockets espescially once they have been worked on. I forget if it's a tenth of a millimeter or a quarter. Just enough to make my life miserable.

Well isn't Mike becoming quite the ladies man? Good for him. Tell him to enjoy being young and sitting with those pretty girls. If I could go back to HS and do it again I would have sat some guys myself. But I was too shy back then. Hard to believe now.

Chiro and masso were good today. And the chiropractor told me he wants me to come back in 2 weeks and will accept what my insurance pays. He is a really nice guy. He said after that we could do once a month if I need to. I guess he knows how many visits it usually takes to keep you feeling good. I certainly wouldn't want the neck to start hurting again.

Oh, that bad little puppy. He must be teething. Glad to hear that he is okay now after all that squash. Guess you can't leave anything out. It's like having a toddler again that gets into everything isn't it?

Oh, I finally got to talk to the Dr. today about the billing and she feels so bad about this. She is a single woman and just bought a house this year so she has to keep up the office expenses and the house expenses by herself and she just cannot afford to pay me to do her billing for awhile. She said she is hoping it is only a few months but that it may be for the rest of the year. She plans to definitely come back to me for billing when she is ready and all caught up on her bills. She is also referring me to other doctors. Hopefully something will pan out and I will pick up a new account. Otherwise I am sure it will all work out. If I know my husband he will find a way to make the car payment for me. He is a definite workalholic.

So, how have you been feeling Cheryl? I hope you are feeling okay. Did the headache from the air show go away?

Emily is really ready for school tomorrow. I am too. I get to go for groceries in the morning. (whoopee) But it will be easier again without a child along to add to the cart. (cheaper too)

Well, I better get going here. I will talk to you tomorrow Cheryl and take care, Michelle

Nice to hear from you again. Sorry to hear you are still having problems. Isn't this the pits? It seems no matter what we do to try to fix it, it doesn't work out. I too have been considering getting the tooth with the crown pulled. I am so worried that this will possibly make things worse too though. I guess that is what my dentist and I will discuss on the 11th. It is funny because my bite can feel one way for a week and then another way the following week. And all due to his tooth moving around so much. And of course I clench on it then and that makes things shift too. Who would think teeth could shift so much? But I guess we are the living proof that they do. (Lucky us)

Well, let me know what happens at your appt. on Monday. I will keep you posted too. Maybe we will come up with some solution at some point. Take care, Michelle

So sorry to hear that you have had so much trouble sleeping. I can relate. The last 2 nights were terrible. I think part of it was worrying about the start of school and dreading getting back on that routine schedule. I am sure my body will adjust. Have you tried a chiropractor for your neck pain? I am sure you have at some time but probably are passing up on it so you can afford it for Mike right now? That is really good that the chiro. said he is holding his adjustments well. Does he say that his neck feels better or does it still hurt a bit?

Oh, yuck, the weather here has been so depressing all week. It has rained every day since Monday. It was raining hard when I took Emily to school and I hate driving in it. People drive like idiots. I cannot believe some of them. Crossing over their line and stuff. I think it is supposed to rain until tommorow morning and then get sunny for the whole weekend and be nice out. I sure hope so.

I am feeling pretty well still. I have only been taking 1/2 flexeril at night so I don't run out before next Thursday. So far it has been okay. Just the bite problem causing facial tension and pain. I am lucky that I have never actually had any pain in my jaw itself. So far the joints are fine and hopefully will stay that way. I am anxious to see what the dentist has to say next week about the bite. This is my cleaning and xray appt. with the hygenist. Hopefully I don't have any cavities. I think I will just cry if I do. I have had about enough dental work to last me a lifetime.

Emily loved school yesterday. She couldn't wait to go back today. I hope she always feels that way. Sounds like Mike is making out pretty good too. Wow, they are running miles already. Do they do that every week or just certain times of the year? We used to have to do it 2x a year. I don't blame you for worrying about him hitting his teeth together. That is why I stopped playing softball for church. When I would get a hit I would have to run so fast to get to 1st base that I would clench my teeth together the whole time. Boy, did I hurt the following week and never knew why at first. Then when it happened a few times I figured it out.

Well, I better get moving here. Hope you had a good day today. One more week to go for our appts. Take care and talk to you soon, Michelle

Yay! So happy to hear that Mike got his splint. Wow, that dentist is so great. It was very nice of him to cut you that break. How is Mike feeling today? How did it go wearing it last night? Back on the road to recovery finally.

Wow, football, I don't blame you for being nervous. But I guess that is par for the course with boys. I would say if Mike feels up to it then let him do it. Maybe it will make him feel better in the long run somehow. You never know. It will be fun for you to watch him play and nerve wracking at the same time. Boy, the girls will like him even more being a football player. (haha)

So, any big plans this weekend? Mike is off on his long weekend for once so we are trying to get some things done around here. We want to have a yardsale 2 weeks from now when he is on vacation so we are trying to get all that together too. Other than that we have a softball game on Sunday. (playoff) Nothing else big though.

Well, it is time for me to go get Emily so I better run. Have a great weekend Cheryl and I will talk to you soon. Michelle

Just wanted to say hello while I was on. Emily went with my parents to the zoo (a surprise trip) so Mike and I are trying to get some stuff done. Pretty boring day.

That is good that the dentist will make Mike a good mouthguard if he decides to play football. You are such a good Mom Cheryl not letting him see your fears and encouraging him with the things he wants to do. I admire you for that.

It's good to hear too that Mike's friend is there this weekend. Is that the one that moved away? I bet they are glad to be hanging out together if so? Sounds like things are looking up for Mike in some ways.(school, girls, etc.) I am so glad for him. He deserves it.

So, the splint is okay and only one tooth was hurting? I hope Mike sees some improvement with it soon. Keep me posted. Oh gosh, I don't blame you for being worried about lunchtime and it getting left on the tray and thrown away by accident. Does the dentist really want it in 24 hours or would it be okay to take that break during school? How long is school for Mike? I know around here it is about 6-6 1/2 hours a day. Maybe you could have Mike take it out when eating and put it in the container and into his back pack or something right away rather than the lunch tray and then he could put it back on right when he gets home. That way it would only be half the school day without it in.

Well, I better get going here. Back to work. I hope the yardsale brings in some money to make up for the work I am losing. We don't have too much stuff but enough to sell. Take care and talk to you soon, Michelle

How are you today? Good I hope. Did you get all the cleaning done? We got alot done around here yesterday. Mike has been working on the landscaping around the house to prevent water on the walls in the basement. We have had a big pile of dirt out back since early spring and he is finally getting somewhere with it. Things were let go so much around here after my Gramps died. If he and my Granny could see it now though they wouldn't believe it.

Wow, 800 kids in just the 9th grade! That is a big school. There are only 350 kids total in Emily's school and I believe the public schools here usually have around 2-300 in a grade. I sure hope you can figure out something safe for that splint at lunchtime. I am sure you will.

So, how did Mike feel this weekend with the new splint? Did he even notice it with his friend over? I bet they had a nice time. Did they do anything fun? Mike and I did at least get a walk in last night before Emily got home. My parents even took her to dinner and Walmart after the zoo. She really enjoyed the time with them though.

I am so glad that Thursday is almost here. Just getting anxious to see what we will do about this crown. I have been feeling okay this week though which surprises me a bit. You know how they always want to blame this problem on stress, well I was definitely stressed this week with losing that job and the start of school for Emily and I felt pretty decent all week. I really believe mine is completely hormone related as to when the bad flare ups occur. I should start keeping a journal or something.

Well I better get moving here. I need to get Emily to bed. OH, we won the softball game this evening so we are in the championship next week. Mike was happy. Take care Cheryl and I look forward to talking to you too. Michelle